In a nutshell, Hard West is a turn-based squad tactical with adventurous world exploration. Think X-Com combat with Heroes of Might and Magic world map.

The combat is fast. The whole combat encounter takes no more than 5-10 minutes. It’s short, bloody, and decisive. All it takes is one well laid shot. It’s just not that easy to put yourself in the proper position.

No peeling off HPs. HPs represent the ability to withstand a shot or two, alternatively to sustain a powerful blow.

There’s little randomization: you either make good predictions and good decisions to land a kill, or you die. There’s no victory without risk, but it’s a well calculated risk.

Creating cover - some objects can be modified to serve as cover.

The world is packed with adventures, stories, treasures, hideouts, mysteries, secrets and surprises. It’s a box of gruesome chocolates. Events aim to astonish you with how bad or how good they are. There’s no mediocrity.

People are destroyed by each other, by the unforgiving land, and eventually by their own vices.

It’s easy to destroy and kill, and much harder to survive and build something. With long enough timeline, the survival rate of everything drops to zero. There’s a shortage of everything, except weapons. And yet the liquor and drugs are in the highest of demands, and can buy you everything.

There are five key ideas that are combined to set the gameplay and mood.

Hard West sun is not the lifegiver, but the lifetaker. The land is scorched. Farming is hard, water is expensive. In combat sun can be blinding, enemies lurk in the dark, and spotting an enemy shadow can really turn the tide.

Hard West, just as life, blends the reality and nightmares. Nightmares feel real at first. And sometimes it’s worse - sometimes they ain’t dreams at all. And sometimes you never even get to know.

This is a time for infamous legends. The best gunfighters can do all kind of epic tricks, ranging from double wielding and fanning, all the way to controlled ricochets and curving bullet trajectory.

Controlled ricochet - manually direct your gunfire onto objects that can bouce the bullet off straight into unsuspecting enemies around the corner

Apart from the period's authentic, Hard West will contain a load of wacky gunsmith experiments. Half-a-pound bullet rifle? Of course. Four-barrelled shotgun? Here you go, Mister. Just because you never heard of'em doesn't mean you can't have one in Hard West.

Quadruple-barreled shotgun, a well known old west classic.

What is hell? How will it look like? Is the devil really walking the earth? What becomes of me after I die? Hard West revolves around the "maybe truths".

The rewards will be delivered on the day of release, or even earlier - in case of soundtrack, artbook, or the grill party (read on!).

Hard West - physical rewards collection

Owing to PlayWay, we can at this point confirm with 100% confidency that the game will be released over Steam.

Per backers' request, the game will be released in a DRM free version as well available for all backers along with the Steam keys.

Our team consists of industry veterans and talented fresh blood. The people of company created already games such as Call of Juarez, Dead Island, Hard Reset, Shadow Warrior as well as lots of artistic projects, indie flash and casual games. We complement each other with experience and passion to create more and more powerful games.

The base sum of money will allow us to implement the elements below. We’ll soon reveal the stretch goals that will add to this.

This will be a bit messy, but meaty. Here's the basic list of features that will be included in the game, if we reach the goal:

6 scenarios - at least 1 hour of gameplay each, some endless. 3 of the scenarios have been fully prototyped, include at least 5 tactical encounters each, are completely playable and passable.

World map - implemented and tested. The way it’s implemented allows the designers (and some of our lucky backers) almost infinite possibilities in terms of what events and options can be achieved in exploration.

Shadow cloak ability - If in thick shadow, character can become invisible for the enemies. Some characters will be able to move within the shadow without becoming visible.

Blinding sun - depending on the sun angle, shadows and character direction, he may be blinded by the sun.

Shadow spotting - enemies that are not visible/spotted will cast shadows nevertheless. Shadows will be registered as spotted targets and displayed on hud.

Creating cover - some objects can be turned over to create cover.

Manual targeting and ricochets - player can select to target manually and bounce the bullets off metal objects. Shotgun ricochet results in an area of effect damage around the object instead.

Bribing - some enemies will positively react to a satchel of coins thrown their way; depending on the amount and their loyalty, they can flee or even switch sides.

Wound system - wounds cripple characters temporarily, but pain makes them stronger. Heal them right away using mixtures, doctors and shamans, or withstand the pain. Survived wounds are forged into permanent perks.

Character development - this is a major topic for us, so stay tuned for a detailed design.

Stealth stage - the combat encounters will be preceded by a stage where enemies are not yet alarmed and there are several stealth mechanics accompanying - sound, shadow, distance, disguise and so on.

Gunpoint ability - allows for locking on an enemy; when the enemy moves the shot is discharged.

Risks and challenges

Developing a game is always difficult. It consumes a lot of work and time. Hard West is a very ambitious project which requires a lot of work and experience.
As we have stated before, our team is an optimal mix of game development veterans and talented fresh blood.
We have already created a large real time strategy game entitled Ancient Space. It has been an opportunity for us not only to perfect our skills in building and balancing strategy games, but also to work out effective pipelines and communications systems, as evidenced by our recent update on level design. Our latest video proves that we already designed and implemented basic gameplay and several locations.
Moreover, our core team members have experience with both horror and Western themes, and have already worked on successful games that included these themes, such as Call of Juarez and Dead Island.
Thanks to separate scenarios, modular encounters and cohesive but flexible mechanics, our game is highly scalable - we will be able to expand the spectrum of the experience, should our means allow it, or reduce unnecessary elements to fit the plan and deliver the game on time and on budget.
With Playway as our investor and the initial boost provided by Kickstarter, we will be able to deliver a fantastic gaming experience. Thanks to our expertise and love for Western games, we are confident Hard West will evolve into an amazing game.